Five-time defending world champion Sebastien Loeb held a 41.8-second lead over Citroen teammate Dani Sordo after dominating the first six special stages of the Cyprus Rally on Friday.

The Frenchman, who is on track to win his third straight event of the season and a record 50th overall — 20 more than his nearest rival — had a total time of 1 hour, 37 minutes, 46.3 seconds.

Mikko Hirvonen of Finland was 1 minute, 0.2 seconds behind in third place in his Ford Focus RS.

Loeb, who won this event in 2004, '05 and '06, won five of the six special stages, with drivers tackling the asphalt portion of the mixed-surface rally and encountered plenty of trouble negotiating the twisty mountain tracks on gravel tires. Afternoon rain showers in the mountains made for even trickier driving.

"I was a bit too careful in the rain there because I didn't want to make a mistake," Loeb said. "Tomorrow, we have to clean the road, but if it's raining, it shouldn't be too bad. We'll try and continue like this."

Hirvonen was frustrated with his performance during the morning stages.

"I didn't know how to drive," he said.

Henning Solberg had to drop out when his Ford collided with a pickup truck on the road section between the service park and the first special stage. Solberg's team said the driver was "99 percent sure" he would rejoin the event on Saturday, but he will have a 30-minute penalty for missing Friday's stages.

Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland was 1:08.3 back in fourth place. Petter Solberg, the 2004 world rally champion from Norway, was fifth in a Citroen Xsara, 2:27.1 back.

The rally continues Saturday with five special stages across the southwestern Troodos mountain range.

The event consists of 14 special stages totaling 332 kilometers (206 miles) and ends Sunday.

Leaderboard after SS3
1. S Loeb/D Elena (F)                             Citroën C4                 48:44.4
2. D Sordo/M Marti (E)                            Citroën C4                +22.5s
3. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen (FIN)                 Ford Focus RS          +42.0s
4. JM Latvala/M Anttila (FIN)                    Ford Focus RS          +46.4s
5. P Solberg/P Mills (N)                           Citroën Xsara            +1m19.3s
6. S Ogier/J Ingrassia (F)                         Citroën C4                +1m28.5s
7. E Novikov/D Moscatt  (RUS)                 Citroën C4                +2m01.8s
8. M Wilson/S Martin (GB)                        Ford Focus RS        +2m03.2s
9. C Rautenbach/D Barritt (ZW)                 Citroën C4                +2m24.9s